Two young Canadian investors, who opened a restaurant in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca three years ago, have decided to close their business due to the Government’s frequent fiscal changes.

They say the current business conditions aren’t favorable for small businesses.

Oliver Rydell, 40, moved from Alberta (Canada) to Cluj-Napoca in 2013, after visiting two trips to Romania in 2006 and 2009. In 2014, he opened a restaurant together with a Canadian friend, local Mediafax reported.

He says their business, which has 8 employees, was doing well but the fiscal changes the Government introduced starting January 1, 2018, were too brutal and have forced them to close their business. Rydell said that the taxes they had to pay for the restaurant were not based on their profit or revenues but on the surface and location, which translated into higher costs that they couldn’t afford to pay. They also had to pay extra for part-time employees.

“Only this month we have to pay extra taxes of over RON 7,000 (EUR 1,500), which is very much for a small business like ours, it’s almost the equivalent of the rent,” Rydell explained.

“We have noticed a lack of predictability in terms of legislation, each year something new comes from the Government. It’s very difficult, you make a business plan and you don’t know what’s next, it’s stressful, it’s very difficult to stick to that plan,” he said.

Rydell said he would stay in Cluj-Napoca, where he got married, but that he would look for a job and not start a new business.

editor@romania-insider.com